The rise and fall of Bird Scooters: From $2B to Bankruptcy

Thanks to Monarch for partnering with me! Start your free trial and get 50% off your first year of total money clarity using my link https://monarchmoney.yt.link/fA1EZDI or code girdley50. In 2018, Bird Scooters became the fastest startup in history to reach a $1 billion valuation. Backed by top venture capital firms and expanding into hundreds of cities, Bird looked unstoppable. Just a few years later, the company filed for bankruptcy and sold its assets for a fraction of its peak value. 👇 SUBSCRIBE for more business breakdowns    / @michael-girdley   Get my free guide → Why Great Businesses Fail: 10 Multi-Million Dollar Mistakes To Avoid: https://links.girdley.com/10fails-yt ------------------------------------------------------------------ ► Get my weekly letter to business owners: essential insights to run, grow, and stay ahead in your business → https://links.girdley.com/newsletter-yt ► For sponsorships or inquiries please reach out to: [email protected] ► Do you have a hat I should wear in a video? Send it to us: [email protected] ► Free events on all things small business: https://links.girdley.com/lectures-yt ► Deep dives on businesses for sale:    / @acquisitionsanonymouspodcast   ► Follow me on Twitter/X: https://x.com/girdley ------------------------------------------------------------------ This video breaks down the rise and fall of Bird Scooters, explaining how micromobility hype, venture capital pressure, and broken unit economics quietly doomed the business. From scooters lasting just weeks, to cities banning deployments, to a disastrous SPAC IPO, Bird tried to outrun the math — and failed. Using real numbers, injury data, and on-the-ground stories, this is a case study on why growth-at-all-costs doesn’t work, and how one startup burned over $1 billion without ever turning a profit. Subscribe for more deep dives into startup failures, investing lessons, and business breakdowns every week.